Multipurpose boat



Jan. 21, 1969 L. HALFON 3,422,778

MULTIPURPOSE BOAT Filed 001.. 20, 1966 Sheet of 2- K I 42 68 7o 55 New, I L 68 2a 30 INVENTOR. L E ON HALFON ATTORNEYS Jan. 21, 1969 1.. HALFON 3,422,778

MULTIPURPOSE BOAT Filed Oct. 20, 1966 Sheet 2 of 2 I36 I40 I39 um 8 INVENTOR.

3m LEON 3O 28 38 I44 HALFON I42 ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,422,778 MULTIPURPOSE BOAT Leon Halfon, Heitz Place, Hicksville, N.Y. 11801 Filed Oct. 20, 1966, Ser. No. 588,035 US. Cl. 114-39 13 Claims Int. Cl. B63h 9/04; B63b 35/00 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A multipurpose boat having a hull symmetrical along both its longitudinal axis and an axis transverse thereto, a deck surface sealed to said hull to form a water tight substantially hollow body and sail, motor and other means for employing the boat.

The present invention relates to boats.

In particular, the present invention relates to multipurpose boats.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a multipurpose boat of rugged, light-weight construction capable of functioning as a surfboard.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a multipurpose boat which is capable of functioning as a sailboat.

Also, it is an object of the present invention to provide a multipurpose boat which can be driven by an outboard motor.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a multipurpose boat which can be propelled by way of a manually operable paddle means.

Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide a single multipurpose boat which, at the option of the operator, can function as a surfboard, a sailboat, a motor boat, or as a boat which can be manually propelled by a paddle means.

Also, the objects of the present invention include the provision of a multipurpose boat which has a high degree of stability.

The objects of the invention also include the provision of a boat which, if it should overturn, can be easily righted by the operator.

The multipurpose boat of the present invention includes, as a basic unit thereof, an elongated body which is capable of floating 0n the surface of a liquid while supporting a person thereon, this body having a bow and a stern and opposed sides each extending from the bow to the stern. The body of the boat of the present invention is longitudinally symmetrical with respect to a vertical central longitudinal plane passing through the bow and stern, and this body is also symmetrical with respect to a vertical central transverse plane passing through the body midway between the bow and stern thereof and intersecting the longitudinal central plane perpendicularly along a vertical center line of the body.

The structure of the invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings which comprise part of this application and in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the hull which forms part of the body forming the boat illustrated in the drawings, the deck being eliminated from FIG. 1 so as to show the details of the interior structure of the body;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the boat with the deck connected to the hull, only the deck being visible in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the boat taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the boat of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a transverse section taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows;

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FIG. 6 illustrates the manner in which the boat of the invention can be righted, if it should happen to be overturned;

FIG. 7 illustrates the connection between the mast and boom of a sail rig adapted to be used with the boat of FIGS. 1-5;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary top plan view showing the details of structure connected to a tiller handle;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary side elevation showing structure connected to the tiller handle of FIG. 8 and also showing how the tiller is connected to the body of the boat;

FIG. 10 is a schematic representation of an outboard motor and the structure for connecting the latter to the boat;

FIG. 11A is a side elevation of a paddle means to be used when manually propelling the boat;

FIG. 11B is a view of the paddle means of FIG. 11A as seen from the right thereof;

FIG. 12 is a top plan view of the boat when it is functioning as a sailboat;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary schematic side elevation of the boat also when it is functioning as a sailboat; and

FIG. 14 is an elevational view of the top of the sail rig.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-5, it will be seen that the multipurpose boat of the present invention includes an elongated body 20 which is buoyant and capable of floating on the surface of a liquid while supporting at least one person thereon. The illustrated body 20 is in fact capable of supporting at least two persons, and because of its light weight and small size the boat of the invention lends itself very handily to use in connection with lifesaving operations. The body 20 has a bow 22 and a stern 24 and a pair of opposed sides 26 each extending from the bow 22 to the stern 24. As is apparent from FIG. 2, the body 20 is symmetrical with respect to a longitudinal central plane which passes vertically through the body and through the bow and stern thereof midway between the opposed sides 26, and the body 20 also is symmetrical with respect to a transverse plane which is vertical and passes through the body midway between the how 22 and stern 24 thereof, this transverse plane intersecting the longitudinal plane perpendicularly along a line which coincides with a vertical center line of the body 20. The op posed sides 26 are convexly curved, as indicated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4. Moreover, the how 22 and the stern 24 have a substantially pointed configuration.

Many different types of materials can be used for the buoyant body 20. For example this body can be formed from foam plastics such as foam polyurethane, for example, with the foam plastic situated within a suitable covering material. In the illustrated example the body 20 is hollow and is made primarily from a suitable sheet material, which may be metal sheet such as sheet aluminum, for example, although in the illustrated example wood, such as plywood sheet, is used to form the hollow body 20.

The body 20 includes an elongated keel member 28 which extends at its bottom edge along the bottom of the body 20 in the central longitudinal plane thereof, and this keel member 28 has a downwardly directed, convexly curved edge. The keel member 28 may be made of wood, for example. For a purpose which is referred to below, the keel member 28 is formed between its opposed side surfaces with an elongated slot 30 which has opposed sides which are parallel to and situated on opposite sides of the longitudinal central plane which bisects the keel member 28. This keel member 28 not only has a downwardly directed bottom edge situated at the bottom of the body 20, but in addition the keel member 28 extends upwardly throughout the entire depth of the body, forming a longi tudinal bulkhead dividing the hollow interior of the body into the longitudinal chambers 32 and 34 apparent from FIG. 1. Thus, the top edge of the keel member 28 participates in the support of the deck generally identified by the numeral 36.

On opposite sides of the keel member 28, the body 20 has convexly curved bottom surfaces 38 which are formed by the exterior surfaces of elongated curved sheet members 40 made of plywood, for example, and having the configuration most clearly apparent from FIGS. 3 and 4. These sheet members or walls 40 extend all the Way to the keel member 28. The keel member 28 is fixedly connected at the bow 22 of the body 20 to a pair of blocks 42 (FIGS. 1 and 3) and the ends of the walls 40 are fixed to the blocks 42 in any suitable way as by being glued thereto, for example. At the stern 24 a pair of blocks 44 are fixed to the keel member 28 at the opposed side surfaces thereof, and the ends of the walls 40 at the stern of the body 20 are fixed to the undersides of the blocks 44, also in any suitable way as by being glued thereto.

The keel member 28 is formed in the region of its bottom edge with a series of openings 46 which may have the substantially square configuration shown in FIG. 3. The openings 46 receive the adjoining inner ends of pairs of aligned reinforcing strips 4 which are fixed in any suitable way to the inner, upwardly directed surfaces of the walls 40, as by being glued thereto, for example. One of the pairs of aligned strips 48 is apparent from FIG. which also indicates how the surfaces 38, which are convexly curved in the longitudinal direction, also slope upwardly from the keel member 28 toward the outer side edges 26 of the boat.

The body 20 has at its opposed sides 26 exterior convexly curved side surfaces 50 which form the exterior surfaces of a pair of elongated side wall members 52 which extend along the outer edges of the bottom wall members 40 and which have their maximum width at the transverse central plane and become gradually narrower toward the bow and stern, these side wall members 52 also being made of plywood, for example, and terminating in the region of the bow and stern. As is apparent from FIG. 5, in the central plane which extends transversely through the body 20, the side wall members 52 form with the bottom wall members 40 angles which are greater than 90 but substantially less than 180.

The deck 36 is made up of a pair of wall or sheet members 54, which may also be made of plywood, for example, and these members have the configuration shown in FIG. 2. They have inner straight edges which adjoin each other at the longitudinal central plane 55 of the body 20, and at their undersides along their inner straight edges these wall members 54, which form the deck 36, are fixed in any suitable way to the top edge of the keel member 28, also as by being glued thereto, for example. The deck 36 is formed at the junction of the wall members 54 with an elongated slot 56, which is aligned with the slot 30 and communicates with the top open end thereof, this slot 30 extending in this way completely through the entire depth of the boat, as is apparent from FIG. 5.

The keel member 28 is formed along its top edge with notch 58 each receiving the inner ends of a pair of aligned upper reinforcing strips 60 which are glued, or otherwise fastened, to the undersides of the deck members 54 so as to reinforce the latter. It is to be noted that the aligned pairs of members 60 are respectively situated over the aligned pairs of members 48. The ends of the deck members 54 are fixed to the top surfaces of the blocks 42 and 44 in any suitable way as being glued thereto.

These deck members 54 project at their outer convexly curved peripheral edges beyond the side walls 52 and beyond the peripheral end edges of the bottom walls 40 at the region of the bow and stern of the body 20, so that in this way the body 20 is provided with a lip 62 which extends around the entire periphery of the body 20 at the upper edge thereof. Moreover, as is clearly apparent from FIG. 5, and the deck members 54 slope downwardly away from the keel member 28.

At the region of the stern 24 the keel member 28 is formed with an opening 64 passing vertically through the keel member 28 for a purpose described below, and the deck 36 has an opening 66 forming a continuation of the opening 64, so that this opening passes completely through the body 20 at the stern 24 thereof.

Bolcks 68 (FIG. 1) of triangular cross section are fixed to the opposed side surfaces of the keel member 28 in the hollow interior of the body 20 at the junction between the front pairs of reinforcing strips 48 and 60 with the keel member 28, so that in this way these blocks form together with the front pairs of reinforcing strips and the keel member a solid body portion, and this solid body portion is formed with a bore 70 which extends vertically toward but terminates short of the bottom edge of the keel member 28. The deck 36 is formed with an opening 72 which forms a continuation of the bore 70, so that through the deck opening 72 it is possible to have access to the bore 70 for a purpose described below.

In addition to the above-described components being fixed to each other in the manner described above, it is to be noted that the inner surfaces of the side walls 52 are fixed to the end faces of the reinforcing strips 48 and 60, the deck members 54 are fixed to the top ends of the blocks 68, the bottom members 40 are fixed to the bottom ends of the blocks 68, and the outer edges of these bottom wall members 40 are fixed to the bottom edges of the side wall members 52, while the top edges of the latter and the outer edges at the ends of the wall members 40 are fixed to the undersides of the deck members 54. All of these parts may be joined to each other by suitable glue or in any other suitable way, so that the hollow interior of the body 20 is watertight and at the same time the body 20 is highly buoyant and of light weight. Furthermore, the body 20 has a relatively rigid, highly rugged construction.

When floating on the surface of a liquid, the abovedescribed body 20 is highly stable. The gradual taper thereof toward the bow and stern, as indicated in FIG. 3, resists undesirable pitching while the small degree of slope of the wall members 40 upwardly from the keel member 28 resists undesirable rolling. Furthermore, the inclination of the side walls 52 further inhibit rolling of the body 20, and if the roll should be great enough, the lip 62 at one or the other sides of the body will engage the surface of the liquid to further resist rolling of the body 20.

Because of its long narrow configuration and relatively small depth, the body 20 lends itself to use as a surfboard. Its weight is small enough to enable it to be easily carried by the average individual.

If it should happen that in rough waters the body 20 becomes overturned, it is a simple matter to right the body in the manner shown in FIG. 6, For this purpose the operator need only apply his feet against the lip 62 and grasp the projecting edge of the keel member 28, where it projects beyond the bottom wall members 40, so that the body 20 can easily and quickly be turned back to its upright position.

It is also possible for the 'boat of the invention to be manually propelled. For this purpose the operator can stand or sit at the stem end of the deck 36 and is provided with a paddle means 74 as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B. This paddle means 74 includes an elongated rigid paddle bar 76 that may be made of wood, for example, and terminating at its outer ends in a pair of paddle members 78 which are of relatively square configuration and which at once face are convexly curved while having a concave curvature at their opposite faces, as is particularly apparent from FIGS. 11A and 11B. It is to be noted that the paddle members 78 are identically oriented, and with this paddle means 74 it is possible for the operator to propel the boat manually.

The boat of the present invention also lends itself to use as a sailboat. For this purpose a centerboard 80 is slipped through the slot 30. The centerboard 80 may be made of plywood or of a sheet of suitable metal, and it has the rectangular configuration shown most clearly in FIG. 13. At its top end the centerboard 80 has its top edge fixed to an elongated bar 82 which is larger than the slot 30, so that this bar 82 will rest at its bottom edge on the deck 36 in the manner shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, and in this way the centerboard can be carried by the body passing slidably through slot thereof and projecting downwardly beyond the keel member 28 to an extent such as that which is indicated in FIG. 13. In this way a considerable stability is added to the body 20 when it is used as a sailboat.

The bore 70, and of course the opening 72, are adapted to receive the bottom end of a mast 84 composed of a plurality of elongated bars which are each provided at one end with a reduced portion 86 received in a bore at the top end of the next lower section of the mast 84, in the manner shown in dotted lines in FIG, 14, so that in this way the mast 84 may be disassembled and reassembled. Each projection 86 may be retained in the bore of the next following mast section in any suitable way as by a suitable cross pin or dowel, not shown.

The mast 84 extends through a vertical hem of a sail 88 which may have the triangular configuration apparent from FIGS. 13 and 14. The sail 88 also has a hem extending along its bottom edge. This bottom hem receives a boom 90 which is slotted at its front end, as shown in FIG. 7, to receive a tongue of a swivel member 92. This tongue is formed with an opening passing therethrough and receiving the shank of a bolt which is fixed onto the front end of the boom 90 by a wing nut such as the wing nut 94 indicated in FIG. 7. At its front end boom 90 is formed with a transverse bore intersecting the slot which receives the tongue of the swivel member 92 and receiving the shank of the bolt which carries the wing nut 94.

At its front end the swivel member 92 has a pair of eyes formed with aligned openings which receive the shank of a bolt 96 which carries a wing nut 98 at its top end, and this bolt passes through the opening of the tongue of a clamp 100 which is fixed to the mast 84 by a wing bolt 101. In this way the swivel member 92 is capable of swiveling about the vertical axis of the bolt 96. This axis of course extends parallel to the mast 84. The clamp 100 can be a springy clamp having a pair of ears formed with aligned openings which receive the bolt and its wing nut 101 by means of which the clamp 100' is tightly clamped onto the mast 84 in the manner shown in FIG. 7.

In order to resist upward movement of the mast 84 out of the bore 70 and the opening 72 an elongated pin member 102 (FIG. 13) is fixed to the deck just to the rear of the opening 72 thereof, and this pin member extends through a sleeve portion of a plate 104 which has along one side edge, the sleeve portion receiving the pin 102, which is fixed to the deck. A suitable spring (not shown) urges the plate 104 downwardly against the deck and the plate 104 is formed with an opening whose front edge presses against the mast 84 so as to resist upward movement thereof. In order to remove the mast 84 it is necessary for the operator to turn or pivot the plate 104 upwardly so that the front edge of its opening will be displaced forwardly away from the mast 84, thus releasing the latter for removal from the body 20.

Also, when the boat is used as a sailboat, a tiller bracket 106 is fixed to the stern 24 of the body 20. This bracket 106 is shown in greater detail in FIG. 9. It has an upper wall 108 formed with an opening which is aligned with the opening 66, and it has a curved wall 110 formed with an opening aligned with the bottom end of the bore 64, so that the bracket 106 is of substantially C-shaped configuration. A bolt and wing nut assembly 112 passes through the bore 64 and through the openings of the walls 108 and 110 of the clamp 106 in the manner shown in FIG. 9, so that in this way the bracket 106 is fixed to the stern 24. At its rear end, beyond the 6 stem 24 the bracket 106 is provided with a tubular bearing portion 114 integral with the remainder of the bracket and formed with a vertical bore passing therethrough.

This vertical bore of the bearing 114 receives a swivel pin 116 which is fixed to and projects upwardly froma plate 118. A sleeve 120 surrounds the swivel pin 116 at the region thereof which is situated just above the bracket 106.

The top end of the swivel pin 116 passes through a tiller handle 122, and an elongated threaded eye member 124 passes through aligned transverse bores of the tiller handle 22 and swivel pin 116 in the manner shown most clearly in FIG. 8. At its threaded end the eye member 124 carries a wing nut 126, while the eye thereof passes through the eye of a pulley bracket 128 which supports a pulley 130 for rotary movement in the manner most clearly shown in FIG. 8. The pulley bracket 128 carries an eye 132 which is capable of swiveling with respect to the pulley bracket and which is situated distant from the eye member 124.

The free end of the boom 90 which is distant from the mast 84 has a second pulley bracket 134 suspended therefrom and freely swingable with respect thereto, as is schematically indicated in FIG. 13. The second pulley bracket carries, for example, a pair of freely rotary pulleys, and a rope which is connected to the eye 132 extends around one of the latter pulleys, then around the pulley 130, and from the latter around the second pulley which is carried by the pulley bracket 134. From this second pulley the rope 136 extends to the tiller handle 122 which carries a means for fixing the rope releasably thereto. In example shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, this fixing means includes a pair of cleats 138 respectively fixed to the opposed sides of the tiller handle 122 in the manner shown most clearly in FIGS. 8 and 9, so that in this way the rope 136 can be conveniently fixed to the tiller handle. In this way it is possible by way of the rope 136 and the pulley assemblies connected therewith to control the swinging of the boom 90 and thus control the maneuvering of the sailboat in a well-known manner.

The tiller handle 122 has a rear section 139 (FIG. 13) I and a front section 140 which is pivotally connected with the rear section in the manner shown most clearly in FIG. 13. As may be seen from FIG. 12 the front section 140 of the tiller handle can be turned with respect to the rear section 139 from the solid to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 12, for example, for the convenience of the operator. If desired, the section 140 can be turned back over the section 139 so as to reduce the length of the tiller handle. In this way the operator can conveniently be situated to a greater or lesser distance from the stern of the boat since the length of the tiller handle can be increased or decreased and in addition the direction in which the front section 140 thereof extends can be adjusted.

A rudder 142 is fixed to the plate 118 (FIG. 13) as by a transverse pin 144 (FIG. 13) so that the angular position of the rudder 142 about the pin 144 can be adjusted. The pin 144 may take the form of a suitable bolt and nut assembly so that the rudder 142 can be fixed in its adjusted position.

Thus, in order to use the body 20 as a sailboat it is only necessary for the operator to assemble the sections of the mast 84 and extend them through the front vertical hem of the sail 88, while the boom 90 is passed through the bottom horizontal hem thereof and is joined to the swivel member 92 which is in turn clamped to the mast by way of the clamp 100. The mast is of course introduced into the bore 70 through the opening 72 of the deck and is releasably held in position by the springpressed locking plate 104. The centerboard 80 is simply slipped through the slot 30 so that it will assume the position shown in FIG. 13.

The tiller bracket 106 is fixed very quickly to the stern by means of the assembly 112, and then the plate 118 together with the swivel pin 116 are assembled with the bearing 114 in the manner shown in FIG. 9. Of course, the rudder 142 is carried by the plate 118. When the swivel pin 116 is passed upwardly through the bearing 114 the sleeve 120 is placed on the swivel pin 116, and the tiller handle 122 is placed over the top end of swivel pin 116 and the eye member 124 is passed through the assembled components so as to assume the position shown in FIG. 8. The rope 136, if it is not already threaded around the pulleys, is then threaded around the latter and is connected with the cleats 138. In this simple, convenient manner the boat is converted into a sailboat. Of course, it can be returned into the condition shown in FIGS. 1-5 simply by removing all of the sailboat components.

In order to use the boat as a motor boat, a bracket 146 (FIG. 10) is fixed to the stern in precisely the same manner as the bracket 106. This bracket 146 is substantially identical with the bracket 106. It differs therefrom only in that, instead of having a bearing 114, it has an upwardly directed wall portion which serves to carry an outboard motor 148 which fixedly carries the C-clamp 150, for example, by means of which the outboard motor is fixedly mounted on the upstanding wall of the bracket 146. This arrangement is shown most clearly in FIG. 10. Thus, through this simple arrangement it is possible very quickly to convert the boat into a motorboat.

It is apparent, therefore, that the multipurpose boat of the present invention includes the basic structure shown in FIGS. 1-5, which is of light weight and rugged construction having a considerable stability and lending itself to use either as a surf board or as a boat which can be manually propelled by way of the paddle means 74. In addition, the structure easily can be used as a sail boat or a motor boat. It is to be noted that the structure of the invention can be very easily manufactured at a relatively loW cost, and the body itself, as well as the components which are to be used therewith, can easily be stored in a relatively small space and can be easily transported to any desired location.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied toseveral preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the devices illustrated and in their operations may be made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A multipurpose boat comprising an elongated buoyant substantially hollow body capable of floating on the surface of a liquid while supporting a person thereon, said body having a bow and stern, a keel member extending from said how to said stern, and opposed sides extending between said bow and stern to form a hull therebetween and a deck enclosing said hull and sealing it against entry of liquid therein, said body being longitudinally symmetrical with respect to a central vertical longitudinal plane extending through said bow and stem midway between said opposed sides of said body, said body being symmetrical with respect to a central vertical transverse plane situated midway between said bow and stem and perpendicularly intersecting said longitudinal plane along a vertical center line extending vertically through a center of said body, said opposed sides of said body are each convexly curved from said bow to said stern and terminate in a substantially pointed configuration, a convexly curved member having a bottom edge directed downwardly beyond said hull member, and said keel member forming a bulkhead extending throughout the depth of said body and formed with a longitudinal slot having open top and bottom ends and having opposed side surfaces situated symmetrically with respect to and extending parallel to said longitudinal center plane.

2. A boat, as recited in claim 1, wherein said body has on opposite sides of said keel member convexly curved bottom surfaces extending from said bow to said stern and sloping upwardly from said keel member, a pair of exterior convexly curved side surfaces extending upwardly from outer edges of said bottom surfaces which are distant from said keel member, each of said side surfaces terminating in the region of said bow and stern and having a width which becomes gradually narrower from said central transverse plane toward the bow and stern, said side surfaces respectively forming with said bottom surfaces in said central transverse plane equal angles greater than but substantially less than 3. A boat as recited in claim 2,

wherein said deck comprises surfaces respectively sloping downwardly from said longitudinal plane toward said opposed sides of said body.

4. A boat as recited in claim 3,

wherein said deck surfaces extend outwardly beyond said side surfaces and, in the region of said how and stem, outwardly beyond said bottom surfaces forming a peripheral lip.

5. A boat as recited in claim 1,

and wherein a centerboard is removably carried by said body in said slot thereof, and extending through said slot downwardly beyond said body.

6. A boat as recited in claim 1,

and wherein said body is formed between said transverse plane and said bow thereof with a substantially vertical opening having an open top end and adapted to receive the bottom end of a mast.

7. A boat as recited in claim 6,

and wherein a mast is situated at its bottom end in said opening and extends upwardly therefrom,

a sail carried by and extending from said mast,

said sail having a bottom edge,

and a boom pivotally connected to said mast and extending along and connected to said bottom edge of said sail.

8. A boat as recited in claim 1,

and wherein said body is formed in the region of said stern thereof with an opening passing vertically through said body,

a tiller bracket fixed to said body at said stern opening thereof,

said bracket having an eye, a swivel pin turnable in said eye,

a tiller handle fixed to said swivel pin and situated above said bracket,

a plate fixed to said pin below said bracket and situated to the rear of said stern,

a rudder carried by said plate,

a pulley carried by said tiller handle,

a second pulley carried by said boom at an end portion thereof distant from said mast,

a rope extending around said pulleys,

and means for releasably fixing said rope to said tiller handle.

9. A boat as recited in claim 8,

and wherein a pivot means pivotally connects said rudder to said plate for adjustable turning movement with respect thereto about a horizontal axis.

10. A boat as recited in claim 1,

and wherein said body includes a hull having walls provided with said bottom and side surfaces and a deck composed of walls having said deck surfaces terminating in a lip.

11. A boat as recited in claim 1,

and wherein said body has upwardly directed deck surfaces respectively situated on opposite sides of said longitudinal plane and sloping downwardly therefrom to said opposed sides of said body.

12. A boat as recited in claim 11,

and wherein said body terminates at the outer peripheries of said deck surfaces thereof in a lip projecting 9 beyond said opposed sides of said body and extending from the bow to the stern thereof.

13. A multipurpose boat comprising an elongated buoyant substantially hollow body capable of floating on the surface of a liquid while supporting a person thereon,

said body having a bow and a stern,

a keel member extending from said bow to said stern,

and opposed sides extending between said bow and said stern to form a hull therebetween and a deck enclosing said hull and sealing it against entry of liquid therein,

said body being longitudinally symmetrical with respect to a central vertical longitudinal plane extending through said bow and stem midway between said opposed sides of said body,

and said body being symmetrical with respect to a central vertical transverse plane situated midway between said bow and stern and perpendicularly intersecting said longitudinal plane along a vertical center 10 line extending vertically through a center of said body, said body being formed in the region of said stern thereof with a vertical opening passing through said body, an outboard bracket fixed to said body at said opening thereof, and an outboard motor carried by said bracket.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,408,579 10/ 1946 Randrup 92 2,444,526 7/ 1948 Pawley 11439 2,500,279 3/1950 Eichner 114-39 X 2,748,740 6/1956 Villar 114-39 3,259,093 7/1966 Taylor 11439 X TRYGVE M. BLIX, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

